David Salvatori started underwater photography in 2008. His main interest today is around nature photography and conservation issues, to which he devotes his travels around the world.
As an amateur, he spends all of his time off planning photographic expeditions to raise awareness on some of the most endangered species of the planet. He also loves writing articles on his trips, collaborating with well-known underwater magazines around the world.
During these first 12 years of underwater activity, he has achieved many recognitions and awards in some of the most important international underwater photography and nature photography competitions.
In 2015 he has published his first photographic book, “Reflections from the Past”, a physical and personal journey to tell a story about his life experience with water.
More on www.ilmaresonoio.com
PADI master scuba diving training instructor, IANTD full cave diver, IANTD advanced nitro diver, 21 years scuba diving as a full time job, Over 10000 dives
ASFERICO plant and fungi winner, ASFERICO runner up and highly commented several times
OASIS PHOTO CONTEST Plant and fungi category winner, OASIS PHOTO CONTEST runner up and highly commented several times
BBC WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR category winner 2013 and 2016, OCEAN ART runner up in wide angle category
OCEAN GEOGRAPHIC highly commented portfolio in David Doubilet category, VERASUB shootout runner up in wide angle category
RAMON BRAVO shootout winner 3 times in a row
TED talk speaker the conference was “UW photography as a conservation tool”
Part of filming crew for documentary in Cocos and water pollution y Mex Caribbean for Ocean blue tree foundation
Head photographer for expedition for the Mexican golf for Green Peace
Born in 1972, in the Canary Islands, Tenerife, he has spent his entire life around the sea as an islander, diver since he was 16 years old, CMAS Instructor, Rebreather Advanced Mixed Gas Diver, free diver, and underwater photographer since 1998.
He develops his activity mainly in the Canary Islands, especially in open blue waters between the islands of Tenerife, Gomera and El Hierro, spending much of his time searching for pelagic life in the blue water through the wide-angle fisheye.
He also practices the specialty of macro photography but especially when he travels outside the Canary Islands.
He has accumulated a large number of awards in almost all the photographic contests held annually in different parts of the world such as Deep Indonesia, OWU, Ocean Art, Festisub, Adex Voice of the Ocean, World Shoot Out Israel, UW photo Challenger China, Ocean Geography Australia , Big Picture Competition, EZ Diver competition, UPY Great Britain, Ocean view California,… etc.
Filippo Borghi was born in Siena on 25-07-1973, CMAS diver instructor and founder member of Sensation Blu di Siena diving club, he began to photograph in 1995 in the waters of the Mediterranean, from sea lover and passionate sub every occasion is good to go in water and consequently to photograph. This passion then leads him to visit many of the most famous and sometimes remote sunken paradises of the world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, Sudan, Madagascar, South Africa, Mozambique, Australia, Papua, Ecuador, Mexico) and try to show every time through his lens the wonders of this world, inviting people to love and respect and explore it!
He collaborates and has collaborated with several trade magazines both in Italy and abroad and many of his photos are published in different international catalogs of nature photography (Scuba diver, Asferico, Underwater world, The subaqueo, AQUA, MonthPhoto, SIPA, OceanGeographic and many others)
Over the years he has received many awards through the most important international photography contest
Naturalist, photographer and science communicator
Environmental guide, scubadiving master and TV scientific consultant, he is graduated in Natural Sciences; his photographs and articles have been published on several magazines, such as BBC Wildlife, Nat'Images, Unterwasser, Focus Wild, Naturfoto, Ezdive e Ocean Geographic. Among his books, we underline Paludi e squame – Rettili e anfibi d’Italia (2014), I tesori del fiume (2016) e Paesaggi bestiali (2019). Regularly involved in lectures on biology and photography, he exposed his shots in exhibitions all around Italy and Europe. In 2007 he discovered a new spider species in Sardinia. Many of his shots received awards in main competitions as Asferico, GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous-Marine and Wildlife Photographer of the Year (category winner in 2011-2016-2018). He thinks curiosity, creativity and respect should drive photographers in their works.
More on www.calosoma.it
Born and raised in Korea, Jerome Kim has been based in the Philippines for the last 22 years. He considers Anilao and Romblon as his most favorite dive spot in the whole Coral Triangle because of the great macro opportunities. He’s been traveling many diving destinations in abroad such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Maldives, Palau, Thailand and Taiwan etc for different kind of subject hunting. He is a professional architect who considers underwater photography as a hobby but he enjoys it immensely. He is able to translate his skills as an architect into designing the perfect shot underwater. He won more than 70+ awards from UW competitions in Korea, Philippines and International. He was a featured Photographer on magazines such as Scubadivers, Scubanet, Underwater World, Sea&Sea Magazine, EZDIVE, Underwaterphotography.com, Scubashooters.net e-Mag, Underwater Macro Photographers e-Mag, UWPhotographers, DivePhotoGuide.com, Divers Alert. His works are published on South China Morning Post (H.K), Washington Post, Divers Alert (US), Manila Bulletin, Inquirer (Phil), Chosun, Dongah (Korea), and published on more than 30+ Magazines and Newspapers He has been invited as VIP speaker to several prestige dive shows such as DRT, ADEX, SPOEX and TDEX He has been judging panels of World Oceans Day Competition by United Nation, Asia UW Photo Challenge by EZDIVE, Drangon Cup by UWPIXEL, Okinawa Masterclass by Okinawa Tourism, Green Island UW Competition by Taiwan Tourism, UWMP competition and more. He starts and co-organized Anilao UW Photo Competition with Department of Tourism of the Philippines for 3 years and it become one of the most successful UW competition events in the world now. He also organized Okinawa Master Class and Underwater Dreamtour. www.underwaterphotography.com
Ellen Cuylaerts relocated from Belgium to the Cayman Islands in 2009. And recently to UK. She has a master’s degree in modern history and education. After a career in IT she home schooled her 2 gifted teenagers and took up scuba diving in June 2011. Soon she became a Master Scuba Diver and combined it with photographing the wonders of the underwater world.
Ellen's main drive is shooting images that contribute to achieving goals in conservation of marine life and education about the importance of our oceans, and to capture the hearts and the will-to-act before it's too late. Her basic concern is the decay of the oceans by pollution, overfishing, the brutal act of shark finning and dolphin and whale slaughtering.
Ellen has received numerous awards for her pictures and was the 2013 World Champion in the yearly online underwater photo competition underwaterphotography.com.
Ellen's work kan be seen in exhibitions in Paris, St. Petersburg, Valencia, Marseille and New York. June 2017 she addressed heads of State on World Oceans Day at the General Assembly of the United Nations highlighting the plight of photographers and filmmakers engaging in protection of the oceans. She curates the UN WOD Photo competition and developed a Charter of commitments regarding ethics for UNWOD and Unesco/IOC.
As a Fellow Explorer International she became a member of the Flag & Honors Committee of the Explorers Club, having a front seat at future explorations! Since 2018 she loves to dive in the silence of caves and in 2019 she was inducted in the Women Divers hall of Fame.
More on www.ellencuylaerts.com